Sound Offs: For Feb. 13, 2014

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Listened to the live feed of the Troy City Council meeting the other night. I was disgusted. Why did Council President allow a resident to verbally abuse a councilwoman? The meeting was let to become out of control. Isn’t his job to control the meeting?

On Jan. 31 on the front page of The Record, showed a picture of Rensselaer County’s Republican Party appointed deputy commissioner of mental health. Isn’t it amazing that he didn’t have the qualifications, but was appointed. As a taxpayer shouldn’t we be getting the most qualified candidates for our tax dollars? After all, it is our money.

To the person who called into sound off about the Keystone Pipeline. It will not help the average American pay a lot less for gas. The gas will go overseas because our oil companies will get more money for it over there.

Unless the mayor of Green Island has some concrete evidence to comment on the Kokopelli’s situation, you might want to refrain from writing letters to the editor. It would have been more constructive if she had called for an outside investigation so we can get to the truth. And her lecture about volunteering was unnecessary.

Thank you, CB Smith, for continuing to shed light on political patronage and thank you to The Record for printing his letter. The appointment is like a black eye on the face of the county Department of Mental Health and another blow to the morale of the qualified hard-working employees of the mental health department.

Regarding the Lansingburgh store. I cannot believe that it was a person from Price Chopper who made the comment in Sound Off.

Thank you, RPI, for lighting up the building on Eighth Street. Wish they would do it more often. Right now, the red really flashes too fast. Could you please slow it down? Keep up the good work, it looks good at night.

What is going on in this country? Oil heat prices sky-rocketing; sure you will increase the HEAP payments to the low-income, what about the average family? You are making us bankrupt. Something needs to be done ASAP.

Every time you turn around the customers are getting sick of it. National Grid makes yet another mistake. They made a mistake billing their customers. Then they made a mistake of where they get their service from; and we have to pay for it. Then we have to pay an extra delivery charge. All they do is make mistakes. Why don’t they clean house and get people who know what they’re doing?

I think cigarettes out of pharmacies is okay. But what about the beer? The harm that does. What about half the aspirins and vitamins in the store that are not FDA approved? Do they know what they’re even talking about any more?

Let’s face it, it’s over. This business model we’ve got for the city of Troy; we’ve got 20 people making $130,000 a year; blue collar people. It’s crazy. We can’t afford it; we’re going to be like Clifton Park and have the state police and sheriff’s department. We can’t afford this. The fire department? Out of control. When are they going to do something. Don’t they realize we’re destined for bankruptcy?

It was nice to see in yesterday’s edition of The Record that Rich Hendrick, head of the Port of Albany has named the Maritime Street building after Pastor Hempel. Pastor Hempel, way before the sinking of the Stella Marra in the Port of Albany, has been helping the sailors visiting the Capital Region. Congratulations on a great article.

Last week’s Record quoted the city as saying any cars parked on city streets, not moved within a reasonable period of time after a snow fall will be towed. 112th Street and First Avenue, a car has been there three weeks, snowed in. 124th and 125th streets on Seventh Avenue, the car has been snowed in for three weeks. Both cars are hampering the snowplows. Why haven’t they been towed?